Signposted Paths

Ruta circular
Itinerario: Fuensanta - Los Fornos - Mayau Pastor - La Vallorita - Fuensanta
Distancia: 10 Km.
Duración: 4 h.
Desnivel: 350 m.

The Foces de Pendón walk starts in Fuensanta, right beside the old spa, which today is a bottling factory. We start off in a southerly direction, crossing the bridge over the river Pra, turning to the right to take the path uphill to the left. At the first junction, we have two options; to the right via Tableu or to the left to the kilns.

We take the second option and without leaving the path, which takes us through short section of centuries old chestnut forests, and we climb up to the kilns, from where we can see Casielles to the east. Once we are on the hill, next to the hut beside the watering trough, we cross the small field and continue on the path carved into the rock that will take us via the narrow pass towards Pendón. There are wonderful panoramic views from here over the river Pendón, also known in the area as the La Peña river, with its wild, clear waters flowing through the limestone rocks.

In a delightful section of this walk, we head deep into the most wonderful of the Les Foces (passages). Once we reach the water collection point, a place known as Les mecedures, we cross the clear water on our left between the right-hand stream known as Bomalu and the Pendón stream on the left, and continue through the forest of centuries old beech and oaks trees. Then we cross the Bomalu stream once again on the right over the Pendón bridge, where we take the old canal road and head the north east. This cobbled road passes through lush vegetation including hazelnuts and oaks, which up until a few years ago, was used to take the hay from the fields in Pendón to the villages of Bulleres and Ovín.

Climbing up the bends in the road, behind us we can see one of the most beautiful spots in Asturias thanks to its wild virgin nature, which has been respected over the centuries. At the end of this gentle and entertaining climb, we come to the canal hill, which drops down to the Pastor livestock area, a rural area dotted with cabins used by shepherds and livestock in the spring and summer. From this beautiful spot, we continue north east on the old road that crosses Les Conellines: In Cantucorral, we leave the rural area of Entrexierres and come to the El Faeu spring from where we can begin to make out much of the cider district.

We carry on down through Los Xerrapos and we come to the Tableu flatlands, where we continue upwards on the track and come to Vallorita; from this area to the north, we will begin to see the villages of Gratila, Piloñeta, Ovín Omeu and Bulleres, as well as much of the Para river valley or Fuensanta valley, where the Ferrería Palace stands out. From these lookout points we continue to drop down gently on the road surrounded by the most typical tree species in the region and we come to our final destination, and starting point, Fuensanta, where we can quench our thirst with water from the La Vegona spring on the right hand bank of the river Para.

.